Zebra Technologies Corporation announced that director, executive vice president and co-founder Gary Cless passed away on January 22, 2016 following a long illness. Cless was 29 when he co-founded Zebra in 1969 with Ed Kaplan, and he devoted his career to growing the company. Initially, Zebra was known as Data Specialties Corporation and manufactured high-speed electromechanical products that punched holes in long paper tape to track inventory.